2024 World Chess Championship Review: What A Finish!

The 2024 World Chess Championship has just wrapped up in Singapore. This event has captured the attention of the chess world over the last few weeks, showcasing classical chess at its finest. Deep calculation, brilliance, and tenacity were on display from both players.

This recap covers the highlights from each game.

Ding Liren of China entered the match as the reigning world champion, having won the crown in 2023 against Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Gukesh Dommaraju of India was his challenger, as the surprise winner of the 2024 Candidates Tournament.

At stake: a prize fund of $2.5 million, along with the chance to enter the annals of history as the winner of the FIDE World Championship - to be forever mentioned in the same breath with the likes of Steinitz, Capablanca, Fischer, Kasparov, and Carlsen.

Related: The World Chess Champion: The Big Five.

The match consisted of 14 classical games, with the first player to reach 7-and-a-half points to be declared the winner. In case of a 7-7 tie, the match would be decided by tiebreak games of rapid and blitz.

The time control was two hours for each player for the first 40 moves, after which an additional 30 minutes would be added, along with a 30 second increment.

Pre-Match Background

World champion Ding Liren entered the match as the clear underdog, having struggled with mental health issues and poor performance ever since he won the title in 2023. His string of bad results had seen his world chess ranking plummet from #3 to #23 at the time the match began. However, Ding promised to put up the best possible fight as the defending champion.

Gukesh Dommaraju, by contrast, was in exceptional form in the leadup to the world championship match. Aside from winning the Candidates Tournament to qualify to challenge Ding, the teenage prodigy also led India to 1st place at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest earlier in the year. Additionally, Gukesh won the individual gold medal as the best-performing player in the Olympiad on board one.

Overall, the weight of expectation was firmly on Gukesh to follow in the footsteps of Viswanathan Anand, his countryman and mentor, and win the World Chess Championship for India. The big question was whether Ding could put his struggles behind him and show the kind of play that earned him the title in 2023.

With the stage set, let’s dive into the action.

Game-By-Game Recaps

Game 1: Gukesh - Ding: 0-1

The first game saw Ding reply to 1. e4 with the French Defense - a rare choice at World Championship level. However, Gukesh was well-prepared, playing the first few moves quickly and confidently.

The middlegame followed a familiar pattern in the French, with White looking to attack on the kingside while Black advanced on the queenside.

After both players had made 19 moves, the following position was reached, with Black’s clear goal to target the weak White pawn on c3.

Gukesh tried to keep up the pressure on the kingside by making the f5 pawn break, but this allowed Ding to get his bishop to g5, hitting the White rook on c1 and making it even more difficult for Gukesh to hold the queenside together.

A few moves later, the c3 pawn was lost, and Ding went on to convert in impressive style. 

Ding had stunned the chess world by winning with the Black pieces, against all expectations! By the end of the game, Gukesh had his head in his hands, seemingly unable to process what had just happened. Would the young Indian star be able to strike back?

Game 2: Ding - Gukesh: ½ - ½ 

This game began with the Italian Opening.

The most interesting moment of this game was when Ding pushed ahead on the flank with 9. a5 - a move which allowed Gukesh the chance to win a pawn by force.

After 9. … Bxc4, 10. dxc4 Bb4, the a5 pawn cannot be adequately defended. The following diagram shows this possible continuation - which, however, did not happen in the game.

This course of action for Black is, in fact, approved by the computer engine. But Gukesh instead made a practical decision to castle his king, suspecting that by grabbing the pawn he would be walking straight into Ding’s preparation - a risk he did not wish to take.

The remainder of the game saw many pieces traded, and a draw by repetition on move 23.

Game 3: Gukesh - Ding: 1-0

Gukesh changed up his opening by starting with 1. d4 this time. The queens were traded on move nine, but dynamic chances remained due to the asymmetric pawn structure.

The middlegame revolved around Ding’s decision to play 10. …Bc2 to target the weak White pawn on b3. This looks strong for Black, because White has no good way to defend that pawn. However, this plan is fraught with peril because Black’s bishop is in great danger of getting trapped.

That is exactly what happened. A few moves later, Gukesh was able to cut off all lines of escape and win Ding’s bishop by force.

Down a piece, Ding kept fighting as best he could, but the game finished when his clock expired with his forces in a hopeless position. Had the game not ended, Gukesh’s next move would have been the crushing blow Bxf5! - a move which wins even more material for White.

The match was therefore all tied up heading into the first rest day.

Game 4: Ding - Gukesh: ½ - ½ 

The next game was fairly uneventful.

The most noteworthy thing was Ding’s unusual placement of his queenside bishop. The move 5. Ba3 has the idea of preventing Black from playing …e6, because in that case White would be able to capture Bxf8 and Black would lose castling rights on the kingside after recapturing.

However, Gukesh found a good solution to this problem by playing 5. …Nbd7. This meant that he could play …e6 and recapture with this knight, thus retaining the right to castle.

After that, the pieces were quickly liquidated and the game ended in a rather tame draw.

Game 5: Gukesh - Ding: ½ - ½ 

We got another French Defense, but Gukesh shocked everyone on move three by playing 3. exd5 - the Exchange Variation. The Exchange French is known to be very drawish, and it seemed strange for Gukesh to voluntarily go for this with the White pieces.

Indeed, for much of the game there was not a lot of action. However, Gukesh made a huge positional oversight with an incorrect recapture on move 23, which allowed Ding to gain a protected passed pawn.

Unfortunately for Ding, he went wrong from here. After Gukesh played 27. Re4 to target Black’s c4 pawn, it was correct for Ding to defend with 27. …Be6 or 27. …Rc8. Instead, Ding played 27. …Bc6 to skewer the White rook and pawn on f3. However, this allowed White to win the important c4 pawn, meaning that Black’s pawn on d3 no longer had its supporter.

Ding had to settle for a draw in an opposite-colored bishop's endgame.

Game 6: Ding - Gukesh: ½ - ½

This game began with the London System - a popular opening played at all levels.

Ding’s deep preparation saw Gukesh fall far behind on the clock. However, the time Gukesh invested was well spent, as he was eventually able to reach a risk free position.

From around here, a draw seemed inevitable - and so it proved.

Game 7: Gukesh - Ding: ½ - ½ 

Gukesh had great chances to press for a win in this game, especially since Ding’s bad position on the board was exacerbated by being far behind on the clock - mostly due to spending over 28 minutes on move 9.

Despite being down a pawn and objectively lost, Ding kept fighting and kept finding challenging defensive resources.

Ding was finally able to reach equality when he found something that Gukesh had missed. He was able to play 46. …f4! because 47. Bc2 (threatening the rook, the move which Gukesh had relied on) could be met by 47. …fxg3!! The point is that 48. Bxd3 (seemingly winning Black’s rook for free) can be met by 48. …g2 where White is forced to give up their own rook to prevent the Black pawn from queening.

Having made good his escape under extreme pressure, Ding would undoubtedly have been the happier of the two players post-game.

Game 8: Ding - Gukesh: ½ - ½ 

Ding again found himself down a pawn and down on the clock. This time it seemed even worse than the last game - Gukesh had two connected passed pawns on the queenside. Surely, not even Ding could save this one?

But the tables turned very quickly! Within a few moves, Ding went from losing to having the advantage! The Black pieces were stuck in several nasty pins, which Gukesh was only able to escape by giving up the exchange.

Fortunately for Gukesh, the Black pawns on the queenside still gave enough counterplay to hold the draw. A very exciting game where either player could have emerged with the full point!

Game 9: Gukesh - Ding: ½ - ½ 

This game started as a Catalan Opening, which both players played with almost perfect accuracy. When both White and Black play with computer-like precision, the outcome is bound to be a draw.

One interesting moment of the game was here, where Ding erased the material deficit through a miniature tactic.

The move …Bxc5 sees Black give up his bishop for a pawn after White replies with Qxc5. But the loss of the pawn means that White’s knight loses its defender - allowing …Qxb6 next where Black regains the piece.

Mass trades followed, and the game finished with both players having nothing but their kings remaining on the board.

Game 10: Ding - Gukesh: ½ - ½ 

Ding again essayed the London System with the White pieces. But this time, he was unable to cause Gukesh any problems whatsoever.

There is not much to be said about this game. The pieces were traded without either side really creating any chances. It ended in a three-fold repetition after 36 moves in the following dead-drawn position.

Game 11: Gukesh - Ding: 1-0

After seven consecutive draws, this game finally delivered another decisive result.

Ding fell far behind on the clock right out of the gate. He inexplicably spent over 38 minutes on his 4th move, and then another 22 minutes on his 5th move! After just five moves, Ding had already burned over half of the allotted time to make it to move 40. Meanwhile, Gukesh was moving instantly and still had almost all of his initial two hours.

Despite Ding’s highly questionable time management, he actually gained an advantageous position on the board quite early in the game.

It all revolved around the c5 square, which Ding had cleverly gained control of by provoking White’s pawn to advance to b5 earlier. This excellent square for a knight caused Gukesh to stop and spent over 60 minutes himself on his 11th move once he realized the gravity of his positional problems. Amazingly, after this long think from Gukesh, the two players' clocks were back to almost level!

Later, Gukesh was able to fight for the c5 square himself by developing his dark-squared bishop to a3. Eliminating this knight heralded the start of Ding’s problems, as Gukesh continued to build pressure on the queenside.

In a difficult position, and with his clock running low, Ding blundered with 28. …Qc8??, which allowed Gukesh a simple tactic: 29. Qxc6. chess24 commentary duo Anish Giri and Peter Leko spotted the tactic at once. So did Gukesh.

Upon seeing 29. Qxc6, Ding resigned immediately. 

If Black were to capture 29. ..bxc6, then White would have played 30. Rxb8, winning back the material with interest, due to the fact the Black queen is pinned along the 8th rank. Whereas if Black recaptures 29. …Qxc6, then White would play 30. Bxc6, where the Black b-pawn is prevented from recapturing due to the hanging Black rook on b8.

Game 12: Ding - Gukesh: 1-0

After the previous day’s heartbreaking loss, Ding needed to fight back. What followed was the defending champion’s best game of the match - and probably one of the best games of his entire career. Gukesh later admitted that Ding had “completely destroyed” him in this game.

Ding treated the chess world to a positional masterclass. He maneuvered all of his pieces to the best squares, and then engineered the critical d4 pawn break at exactly the right moment. Compare the positioning of White’s forces with those of Black’s in the below position. White’s pieces are a picture of harmony, while Black’s pieces are awkward and uncoordinated.

Bobby Fischer once said: “tactics flow from a superior position”. This game is a perfect example. As Ding’s d-pawn marched further up the board - with Gukesh powerless to stop it - the tactics started appearing everywhere.

The game ended with Ding playing Rxg7+ - a move which enables White’s pawn on d7 to promote after …Kxg7, Bxf8+ Kxf8, d8=Q+.

With Ding’s victory, the match was again all tied up: 6-6. We were in for a thrilling finale.

Game 13: Gukesh - Ding: ½ - ½

For the third time in the World Chess Championship, Ding replied to 1. e4 with the French Defense.

Ding yet again fell far behind on the clock very early on. His position on the board was uncomfortable too. Ding’s main problem was a familiar one for Black in the French Defense: the bad light-squared bishop. In the below position, both players had made 26 moves and the “French bishop” had still not left its starting square. Nor did it have good prospects to develop anytime soon, with so many of Black’s pawns on light squares blocking the bishop’s path.

The critical moment of the game came a few moves later, with Black to move. White’s knight is threatening to land on d6, forking all of Black’s heavy pieces. Ding, under tremendous pressure, found the only move which didn’t lose instantly - the difficult-to-spot …Rf8!

The point of this counterintuitive move is that after Nd6, Black has …Rc7! - a move which allows White to capture the Black queen with the knight, because in that case Black would be able to capture White’s queen with the rook.

After finding …Rf8, the worst of the danger had passed for Ding. Gukesh opted to keep the queens on the board and to keep pressing, but Ding confidently played out the rest of the game and split the point.

Game 14: Ding - Gukesh: 0-1

The general consensus among the commentators was that should the World Chess Championship be decided on rapid and blitz tiebreaks, Ding would be the clear favorite.

Perhaps this thought was going through Ding’s mind when he willingly entered into an endgame down a pawn. With only one rook and one bishop each, and both players having all their pawns on the kingside, this was objectively a game which should have been possible for White to draw. However, Gukesh would be sure to exhaust every possible avenue to dial up the pressure and try to provoke a mistake.

Ding’s general strategy in this endgame was to attempt to trade pieces. If either the rooks or the bishops were to leave the board, then the position would become much easier to hold.

Unfortunately, with time running low, Ding mistakenly offered a trade in circumstances which allowed Gukesh to reach a winning pawn endgame.

55. Rf2?? enabled Gukesh to trade rooks with 55. … Rxf2!, and after 56. Kxf2 force the bishop trade with 56. …Bd5! It soon led to the following position:

This is winning for Black. Both players knew it, and Ding resigned - with Gukesh becoming the 18th World Chess Champion!

Final Thoughts

Gukesh, at 18 years of age, has become the youngest player to win the World Chess Championship in history. He was humble in victory post-match, heaping praise upon Ding as an “incredible fighter”, and a “true champion”. Gukesh also made clear that he is still very ambitious, and wants to have a long reign as World Champion. That’s for the future - but for now, he deserves all the accolades coming his way.

Ding, meanwhile, can hold his head high. Many pundits were predicting a one-sided match in Gukesh’s favor, but Ding put up a level of resistance that tested Gukesh to his absolute limits. Ding’s fans will also be pleased to know that he intends to continue playing chess, despite losing the World Championship title.

2024 was truly one of the most remarkable World Chess Championships in history. Tension, drama, and plenty of decisive results. 

Looking Ahead To 2026

All eyes now turn to 2026, when Gukesh will attempt to defend his World Chess Championship. 

Who will be his challenger? The International Chess Federation is again running a process to determine who will qualify for the next Candidates Tournament.

The likes of Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura, and Ding Liren will all be well into their mid-thirties by the time the 2026 World Chess Championship rolls around. However, it would be foolish to write off their chances purely on the basis of age.

The rising stars of the chess world such as Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Alireza Firouzja, and Arjun Erigaisi are also in the running to be Gukesh’s challenger. If one of them were to step up, it would mark a generational shift in the chess elite.

One thing is for certain, the road to 2026 is bound to be exciting!